Post-Game Breakdown: Bruins cruise to 6-0 win over Isles

Recap: This one quickly had the feel it
was over before it even really began. Boston was all over the Isles
early and blew the doors off Nassau Coliseum early with three goals
via Patrice Bergeron, Nathan Horton and Chris Kelly in the opening
frame to take a 3-0 lead — chasing Rick DiPietro in the
process. With Anders Nilsson in goal, the second period was status
quo as New York finally showed signs of life and the B’s
offense went dormant.

But it woke right up again in the third, as Andy Ference and
Chris Kelly had goals 2:29 apart in the middle of the period. Zdeno
Chara closed out the scoring with 1:45 left, capping off an easy
6-0 win for the Bruins.

Records: Boston 11-7-0, 22 points; New
York 5-9-3, 13 points

Key Play of the Game: The B’s second
goal was the telltale sign the Isles were in for a long night.
DiPietro foolishly tried to throw the puck up the middle with
Boston on a power play and the biscuit landed right on Nathan
Horton’s stick. No. 18 took a few quick strides then ripped
one glove side that the Isles netminder had no shot on. The Bruins
went ahead by two and never looked back.

Connolly’s Commendations: Would
anyone have believed me if I said Chris Kelly would be on pace for
32 goals at the 18-game mark before the year started? That’s
exactly where the center stands now after striking twice in the
B’s big win. With seven goals, Kelly ranks third on the team
behind only Milan Lucic and Tyler Seguin.

Tremendous kudos goes to the entire Boston blueline.
Couldn’t have asked for a more flawless game. Not only did
the B’s d-men limit the Islanders to damn-near zero quality
scoring chances, they also chipped in a ton down the other end of
the ice. Ference and Chara each had tallies, while the blueline
corps as a whole combined to sport a plus-10 rating (led by Joe
Corvo’s plus-4).

But the defensive props don’t just stop there.
Boston’s forwards did a great job chipping in back in their
own end to keep the Isles from doing literally anything
offensively. Additionally, they put New York on the man advantage
just once and kept them from capitalizing on it.

Connolly’s Critiques: Anything
written here wouldn’t be a reach, it’d be an outright
lie.

Notes: Tyler Seguin had an assist but
finished with zero shots on goal for just the second time this
season (Oct. 10 vs. Avalanche). Greg Campbell had an astoundingly
awesome night at the dot, winning 12-of-14 (86%) faceoffs. As a
team, the B’s won 42-of-68 (62%) faceoffs.

Final Thoughts: After two
tightly-contested games, the Bruins returned to full-fledged
blowout mode tonight. This one was simply never in doubt, as the
B’s once again saw a surplus of players turn in great
performances en route to their eighth-straight victory.

Next: Boston’s three-game road swing
will continue on Monday night when they visit the Bell Centre to
take on the Montreal Canadiens.